A campaign is not a horserace

Friday

Jun 13, 2014 at 6:30 PMJun 13, 2014 at 8:29 PM

As I mentioned here a few weeks ago, I’m wearing a new hat: Massachusetts Political Editor for GateHouse Media New England. As such, I’ve been recruiting a team of editors and reporters to consolidate and improve our campaign coverage, and putting together a new website, which went live today: MassPoliticalNews.com.

I’ll be blogging there as well, which likely means you’ll be hearing less from me here. I expect you’ll keep sustaining good conversations even as my attention is diverted.

Here’s my first MPN blog post. Now, it’s off to Worcester for the Democrats’ convention:

When the Massachusetts political class gathers in Worcester this weekend, 90 percent of the conversations will consist of variations on a single question: Who’s going to win? It’s an important and natural question. Everyone wants to know the future. We’re in a campaign and campaigns are about winning.

But it’s not the only question, and it comes with a bias toward watching the political process instead of participating in it. A better question: Who should win?

After all, voters don’t have to choose between these candidates until September in the primary and November in the general. We should spend our time and energy learning about the candidates’ qualities, not handicapping their chances.

I’ve recently been named Massachusetts political editor for GateHouse Media, charged with coordinating our coverage of the 2014 campaign. I mentioned my new gig to Gov. Deval Patrick when he was in Framingham to meet with the MetroWest Daily News editorial board a few weeks ago, and asked him if he had any advice.

If you want to know what’s going on, Patrick told me, don’t listen to the pundits and the media and the consultants. Go to the people who have been meeting with these candidates in their living rooms and talking about them with their friends. Ask them why they decided to support their candidate. What do they see in him or her?

So here is my resolution as I head to Worcester for two days of mingling with Democrats: Resist the urge to ask who’ll win, and to ask other questions instead. What makes the candidate special? What is the candidate good at? What lingering doubts do you have about this candidate or that one? What drives the candidate, personal ambition or a larger mission?

A political campaign is not a horserace – it’s how free citizens choose their decision-makers. If media and political insiders though less about strategy and more about substance, we’d all be better off.

As I mentioned here a few weeks ago, I’m wearing a new hat: Massachusetts Political Editor for GateHouse Media New England. As such, I’ve been recruiting a team of editors and reporters to consolidate and improve our campaign coverage, and putting together a new website, which went live today: MassPoliticalNews.com.

I’ll be blogging there as well, which likely means you’ll be hearing less from me here. I expect you’ll keep sustaining good conversations even as my attention is diverted.

Here’s my first MPN blog post. Now, it’s off to Worcester for the Democrats’ convention:

When the Massachusetts political class gathers in Worcester this weekend, 90 percent of the conversations will consist of variations on a single question: Who’s going to win? It’s an important and natural question. Everyone wants to know the future. We’re in a campaign and campaigns are about winning.

But it’s not the only question, and it comes with a bias toward watching the political process instead of participating in it. A better question: Who should win?

After all, voters don’t have to choose between these candidates until September in the primary and November in the general. We should spend our time and energy learning about the candidates’ qualities, not handicapping their chances.

I’ve recently been named Massachusetts political editor for GateHouse Media, charged with coordinating our coverage of the 2014 campaign. I mentioned my new gig to Gov. Deval Patrick when he was in Framingham to meet with the MetroWest Daily News editorial board a few weeks ago, and asked him if he had any advice.

If you want to know what’s going on, Patrick told me, don’t listen to the pundits and the media and the consultants. Go to the people who have been meeting with these candidates in their living rooms and talking about them with their friends. Ask them why they decided to support their candidate. What do they see in him or her?

So here is my resolution as I head to Worcester for two days of mingling with Democrats: Resist the urge to ask who’ll win, and to ask other questions instead. What makes the candidate special? What is the candidate good at? What lingering doubts do you have about this candidate or that one? What drives the candidate, personal ambition or a larger mission?

A political campaign is not a horserace – it’s how free citizens choose their decision-makers. If media and political insiders though less about strategy and more about substance, we’d all be better off.